Looking in All Perspectives
by Anonymouscomposer
Summary: Anastasia Black is the youngest of Cygnus Black's daughters. Life may seem easy for a girl living on the top of superiority in the wizarding world, but life has thrown her some curveballs. Torn between her sisters and her cousins, she has to pick a side before it's too late. Anastasia's life is more adventurous than what she had originally asked for as she learns her way around.
1. Imprint on the World

tHeRe iS No foOT tOo sMAll tHAt CaNnot LEaVe aN iMpRinT oN tHiS world.

* * *

 **Prologue**

Psychology says humans all think and behave the same, which I completely agree with. People do not realize the accuracy of this statement. When I was little, adults would tell my class that each one of us were special, but if everyone was special, then is anybody special; instead, I would have told my younger self that there is a special plan that everybody takes part in. Here is one of the most imperative parts that I contributed to in that plan:

Like everything, it starts with foundation. At the ripe each of four, I told my father I wanted to see the world; however, I did not want to see the world for adventure, for travel, for sightseeing, for meeting new people, for learning, for new experience, for any reason like that. Thanks to, again, psychology, I wanted to see it because of the simple thing that all humans have in their DNA. It's called curiosity. The desire to know. I wanted to know what was out there beyond where I lived. Cliché much? I guess so.

 _The world is big_. At least, that was my father's four-word response to me. I will never forget those words because that was the only wrong thing he had said in his life. His words did not have any other take on it; they were too close-minded. So, I reworded it for him _to the world is like an overcrowded room._ Because of the vast number of things crammed into a limited space, it seems infinite. Let's start with a single house in the suburbs. If the plot of land had no house, then that plot of land would look quite small. But when you put a house on it, then boom, there are three floors of exploration plus the backyard, any shed, any pool, etc. And then, when in the house, it enlarges because that house has rooms. Even in each room, there are nooks and crannies to be looked at that could hold hidden things. Every corner, every closet, every drawer; every little thing. Parents do not even know what's in their children's bedrooms. I think about that a lot. When I pass houses that I see every day, it feels like I am part of that house. In reality, I have no clue what the inside even looks like, or even the backyard.

Let's imagine a neighborhood without any houses. There's not much to explore. All there would be are trees and shrubbery. Now, let's zoom out even more. I know every street by its name in the ten-mile radius of my house. I know that the Java Cup is on Bay Grove five miles due east and Highland's Market is in Jocks Square approximately 7 miles toward the city. But if I just went fifty miles from my house, I would be utterly lost. It's strange how you can know something so well, but at the same time, know just the surface of it. Everything gets bigger the closer you get to it. That was the first lesson he taught me.

Despite being lost, I bet, I would know someone who knows someone who knows someone. Eventually, we would find some relationship like my friend's aunt's cousins father-in-law is their mother's coworker's fiancé's stepbrother. That's why it's called a small world. The people. When I look at my friends, I think of the things that I will never get to know not because they are hiding things from me, but there are things that happen to them that they do not feel are important. The amount of information in the human population is beyond imaginable. Each person has not just a story, but thousands of stories that could be told. So not only is the dimensional space unimaginably seemingly large, but the space between our ears is infinite. That is why my whole adulthood was trying to travel; to see just how big the world really is. Let's not get caught up too much. We have to start at the beginning.

* * *

 **Wednesday, August 31, 1960 in St. Mungo's Women's Wing**

On a humid summers night, Druella Black was groaning in agony as she was laying there waiting to push out her fourth child. She had been in labor for a grueling five hours; five hours of pain and misery. In the beginning, the contractions came every hour or so, and then later, they became more and more frequently to the point that every ten minutes a new one had started. Not only did her pregnancy make her feel as if she was burning on fire, but the weather, too helped contribute to Druella's misery. It had yet rained in London for three weeks, which made the air ever so humid and sticky. That plus the August heat did not add well for a pregnant woman in labor.

It was around 8:30 p.m. when the sun had, finally, gone down, so thankfully the hospital was starting to cool down, however, the contractions still continued. To pacify, the healers had started placing charms that would lessen the pain, but so far, the baby seemed to display alike traits of stubbornness as her mother. She evidently rejected the plan to leave her mother's warm womb, but Druella, being an expert at stubbornness, made sure that this baby was going to come out. The healers placed more charms to speed up the delivery by quickening the dilation process, and then, her cervix was completely open at ten centimeters meaning it was time for Druella to start pushing.

"Druella, you're ready to start pushing. I'm going to count down from ten, and when I get to one, you can stop to take a breath. Ready?" the main healer asked.

Nodding, Druella replied "Yes, I'm ready"

"Push…ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four, you can do this…three…two…one. That was amazing. Now breathe and we'll start in the next ten seconds." With that said, Druella's eyes bulged out from the healer's comment. How was she supposed to continue this every ten seconds until a baby popped out?

While all of this was going on, in the other room, Cygnus, her husband, was trying to keep the children occupied. Including his children, he was also parenting for his sister's child since she was helping his wife, Druella. The little ones had been sitting around in the waiting room from the start of when she went into labor causing them to become grumpy and bored; not a combination any parent wanted to deal with. On top of that, not quite grasping the reason of why it took so long, the children consistently complained impatiently about their situation.

Walking up to the chair her sister was in, Narcissa, the youngest of the children, poked her sister, "Bella, I'm bored. Can you play a game with me?"

"I'm tired and there's no games around," her older sister mumbled. Andromeda, the middle child, glared at Bella signaling to her to change her response.

She kindly added, "Cissy, we both would love to do something. What do you want to play?" "Hide and seek" Narcissa replied happily.

Trying to get out of the situation Bella stated matter of factly, "Mother and Father do not want us to be a bad influence on our little cousin and" but Cygnus cut her off saying, "Only this time will I let you behave in this manner. Do you understand?"

"Yes, of course," Dromeda quickly replied while Cissa nodded. "Now, Cissa and I will hide while Bella, you can have fun and count to 200."

"No. If I'm playing, I'll count until 50 and you best be ready."

"Fine then. Close your eyes and don't cheat, Bella."

"No promises. One, two, three, four, five … forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty. Ready or not here I come." Looking around the room, Bella immediately spotted Narcissa, but not wanting to ruin her fun and more importantly wanting to make Dromeda lose first, she acted like she was completely oblivious. Looking under chairs and behind the door, she searched for the middle child. After looking for some time, Andromeda was ultimately found behind a table in which Bella had already searched around.

"Andromeda! You cheated!"

"No one said we weren't allowed to move."

"It was a given. Every time we play, we're not allowed to move. Do I need to remind you every time?"

"I guess so. Besides, you still haven't found Cissa."

Bella whispered making sure Narcissa didn't hear, "Yes I have." With that, she added her infamous smirk she had inherited from the Black tree.

For a few more minutes, Bella faked searched around the room for Cissa who stayed in the same spot not daring to move like her older sister did. Once she was found, she announced that it was Andromeda's turn to seek. The game continued, but fortunately for Cygnus, at some point they all had grown weary and had fallen sound asleep.

Only a second from the clock ticking to midnight, a sudden outburst of cries was expelled from the room in which Druella had been in, waking everyone up. After the unsettling sounds, it grew quite for a split second. Faintly, there were cries for air and then all of hell's gates let loose when oxygen had reached the baby's lungs. This was the cue to go into the delivery room. Gathering all the children, who were anxiously waiting to meet the baby, Cygnus cracked the door open to make sure Druella was covered. Once the nurse approved, he opened the door wider, letting the rest of the family in. Walking to his wife, he gently picked up the crying baby. Apparently satisfied, the baby stopped her screaming and stared at her father with immense fascination. As Druella placed the hat on the baby to keep her warm, Cygnus noticed that her blonde hair was notably bright as it lay on her head. Her blue gray eyes, much like her cousin, Sirius, stared deep into her father's making their first father-daughter connection.


	2. Misnamed Fate

tHeRe is No such tHinG aA An aCcIdEnt; iT is fAtE miSnaMed.

* * *

 **Nine Months Prior on Friday, December 9, 1960, in Black Estate at 11:00 a.m.**

Christmas was coming around the corner, and the Blacks were preparing for their annual Christmas gathering where the most prestigious families were invited, so every minuscule detail had to be planned out to perfection. Even though the children were at such a young age, the gatherings were a way to make alliances with families through marriages. The house elves were running around to put up decorations, clean the house, and make the food. From almost every room, the girls could hear their mother and aunt shouting orders at the elves. Druella was usually not a harsh woman, but when it came to planning events like this, the stress opened up a new part of her.

"NO! The tables need to be exactly aligned with each other. What did I almost trip on!"

"Mummy, I'm hungry," Narcissa whined to her mother.

"CYGNUS. Get the children out of my way."

Reminding himself that this was not his usual wife, he grumbled to tell the children to go to their rooms. Also exasperated by the girls, to keep the children from getting in the way, Walburga sent the girls to Madam Malkin's to buy dresses for the occasion. She put Bellatrix in charge of making sure her sisters chose dresses that were suitable, wore hair appropriated enough for a pureblood, and had an overall presentation that would make their parents proud. Narcissa and Andromeda were unhappy of this, but did not dare to argue. Before they left, Walburga gave them a speech, more like a lecture, on the proper behavior of the pureblood society.

"Girls, sit down," she told them as she pointed to the three chairs in front of her.

"I am in a hurry, so this will be crisp and to the point." Andromeda looked at Narcissa rolling her eyes passively.

"Now, when you go to Madam Malkins, I want you to be on your best behavior. Actually, from this point forward, you must be on your... Narcissa sit up straight! … best behavior. There will be no arguing or bickering. We certainly cannot have that out in public or around the rest of the families. Use your manners, say please and thank you when you ask for a dress, and make sure you look ladylike…"

Bellatrix whispered to Andromeda, "Is she almost done with her spiel because"

"BELLATRIX! Are you paying attention"

"Yes, Aunt Walburga," Bellatrix squealed as her face turned beet red, while Andromeda was holding back her giggles.

"Where was I? Oh yes, Kreacher will be apparating you to the shop, and when you are done, you will immediately be transported right back home. Understand?"

Each girl nodded in unison as if it were planned.

"You best be on your way. I am busy and must not be distracted again." With a huff, she left the girls sitting there staring at the wall.

"Well, I guess we ought to go," Andromeda awkwardly announced as she was starting to stand up.

"Kreacher!" Narcissa called.

"Miss Narcissa, Miss Andromeda, and Miss Bellatrix, Kreacher is here to serve. Are you ready to go to Madam Malkins to pick out dresses?"

"Yes." Crack and with that, they apparated. When the girls arrived, they were all caught off their guard because they usually didn't apparate. Once they had gotten situated, Madam Malkin greeted them, "What are these fine ladies doing here?"

Narcissa excitedly told her that they were buying dresses for a formal holiday celebration. Madam Malkin, then prompted them each to stand by the mirrors to be measured and fitted. As her usual routine, she measured the height from head to toe, the sleeve length from shoulder to fingertip, the inseam length, the waist size, and the chest size. After she measured each girl, she walked towards the back to get the dresses.

"What color dress do you want, Bella?" Andromeda asked.

"I want a black dress that goes to the floor, but doesn't drag."

"You know mother would not approve. She thinks that's too mature for your age."

Bellatrix mocked, "Girls, those dresses are to be worn when you are growing into womanhood."

"You girls don't understand now, but you will understand later. Just wait." Narcissa added while fluttering her eyes.

The three of them giggled until they heard Madam Malkin walking back. She had three racks of dresses; one for each of them. Bellatrix started first. She picked one that was a dark maroon with lace sleeves, and a skirt that trimmed right passed the knees. Her sisters judged and told her that it looked too innocent on her. Bellatrix walked back into the dressing room and tried the next one on.

While Bellatrix was trying on her dresses, Andromeda had spotted a dress that she knew would match her features perfectly. It was a creme colored dress with gold lace. There were short sleeves, and a neckline that left her collarbone bare, but not revealing enough to the point that her parents would notice; finally, Bellatrix had come out of the changing room wearing an emerald dress that ruffled at the bottom like a Spanish dancer's dress with a black lace top and quarter length sleeves. Her curly raven hair appealed to the dress making it shine even more than it already had, and the minute Narcissa and Andromeda saw it on her, they knew it was the one. Andromeda picked up the one she had been looking at and tried it on. In the mirror, she knew even if her sisters disliked it, she would still pick it. When her sisters saw it, Bellatrix exclaimed that it was not fair how quickly it took for Andromeda to find a dress that fit so well.

When it came to Narcissa, she had no clue what dress to try on. All of them looked so beautiful she would have bought every single one if she were allowed.

Andromeda suggested, "Well, since Bellatrix has green, and I have gold, then you should get red, so we match the Christmas colors."

Narcissa picked out a red velvet colored dress with a black belt around the waist and sequence near the chest. The sleeves were quartered length, and the dress fell right before the knees. Her blonde hair was emphasized with the deep red making Andromeda and Bellatrix squeal with envy, so Narcissa chose to wear that one; finally done with trying on the dresses, Bellatrix brought them to the counter.

"Well girls, have you picked out your dresses?"

"Yes ma'am. We would like to purchase these three," Bellatrix said politely as she placed them on the counter. Once they purchased the dresses, Kreacher came in, and they apparated home.

At home, the girls each had a designated house elf to bathe them and as their mother said, "girl them up." When they all were readied, the house was decorated and everything was placed how Druella wanted it.

When it was time for the celebration to begin, the girls were to curtsy at every guest who arrived. It was fun at first, but then it just became so repetitive. For example, the Notts arrived, so each would say, "Merry Christmas" and then curtsy. "Welcome," and then curtsy. "Thank you for joining us this evening." Curtsy. Repeat. It surprisingly became quite difficult to make up so many greetings in so little time. Eventually, all the guests arrived and the girls were escorted to the tables.

For all the children, it was boring. The adults were talking and having a grand old time reminiscing their memories before them; meanwhile, none of the children knew each other. Trying to get a conversation to start, Andromeda asked the group if they were excited about Hogwarts knowing that would spark something. Rodolphus and Bellatrix being the oldest were most interested in the conversation, but they ended up just talking to each other about learning and practicing dark magic while Lucius, Narcissa, and Rabastan being the youngest did not talk much about school, but about their families and hobbies. Andromeda ended up talking to Stuart Craggy about quidditch and everything related to that.

From a distance, Thalia Nott was watching the children play. She asked Maia Lestrange about Narcissa and Andromeda.

Maia explained, "Why do you not recognize? Those are the ladies from the House of Black."

"I seem to have not noticed that they have had three girls. I remember Druella being pregnant with one, but not the others," Thalia giggled.

"I see. Piteous Cygnus Black has yet to have an heir. I guess someone has to produce the girls to keep the generations going. Do you know what they are called by?"

"Their names?"

"Yes, their names"

"As of what you know, the eldest, Bellatrix, is already nine years old, only two years from going to Hogwarts. She is the one with the long curly black hair that seems to never want to be tamed," Maia pointed out.

"Aw, her eyes have a beautiful dark tint to the brown; not quite black, but a beautiful shade of deep brown, in my opinion. Who's the girl sitting to her right?"

"Andromeda, their middle child, I believe is seven. The one with medium curly brown hair and chocolate brown eyes?"

"Yes, and that must be their youngest. Narcissa?"

"Exactly. Druella told me that she is five years old. She has the long luscious blonde hair and blue eyes full of curiosity that Druella once had. But now hers is dirty blonde."

"Imagine if one of those girls were our son's wives," Maia commented.

"That is if they could act like gentlemen, at least around them. Luckily for you, Lestrange is just as honorable as Black," Thalia said smiling. The conversation continued throughout the night.

The guests were starting to leave giving their regards to the Blacks. It had been a long night for the children, but that was good for the families for they had become acquainted with each other. Once all had left, exhausted, the children slipped into bed without a fuss and fell sound asleep.

* * *

 **Saturday, December 10, 1960, in Paris, France, at 7:00 p.m.**

The next day, Druella and Cygnus were celebrating their fourteenth anniversary. The children were all at Walburga's estate to stay for the weekend while their father took Druella to France to eat at a fine winery in the heart of Paris. When they arrived, Cygnus had requested his wife's favorite flowers, daffodils, to be the table's centerpiece. There were wildflowers and wild grasses straight from their gardens added with the daffodils. Druella smiled as she blushed from the romantic gesture. After a few glasses of wine and an appetizing meal, they apparated back to the Black Estate. In bed, there was music playing, new sheets, lights dimmed, and everything a woman could dream of.

"Cygnus, you know you are a romantic, but you just hide it from the rest of the world."

"Now why would I not," he chuckled.

"Come here, you," Druella said as she pulled her husband closer.

* * *

 **Sunday, December 11, 1960, in the Black Estate at 9:00 a.m.**

The next morning, Druella and Cygnus lied in bed for what seemed a lifetime talking on just about every topic from their childhood to their kids now to the most recent gossip. They had not cuddled together in such a long time. With three girls, it didn't even seem plausible. Imagine a fourth. They kept talking through the morning until afternoon when Cygnus suggested that they should pick up the kids. Hesitantly, Druella dragged herself out of bed to shower and dress. When both were readied, they apparated to twelve Grimmauld Place.

* * *

 **Sunday, December 18, 1960**

A week had passed since their date night, and something felt odd to Druella. Thinking to herself it could just be a feeling that would pass, and she would not have time to worry since Christmas was in a week, she brushed it off.

* * *

 **Tuesday, December 27, 1960, at Bridgewater Brunch**

Instead, of that feeling going away, it seemed to strengthen. One morning, for brunch, Druella was talking to Hestia Malfoy, an old friend of hers.

"I don't know what the feeling is but it's strange, Hess"

"So, you have never felt it before?"

"No, not exactly. It's faintly familiar, but I just can't pinpoint it out."

Hestia softened her voice, "Have you and Cygnus done anything recently?"

"No. Well, actually now thinking of it, our anniversary was two weeks ago, and well, I'll be discreet and just say, yes we did something recently."

"I can only recommend to either go to a midwife and get it checked out or wait for more signs"

"Which one would you do?"

"Honestly, I would wait, but you know the better thing to do is to go to Mungo's."

"If I am pregnant, then I can't apparate."

Hestia added, "You apparated to get here."

"That's because I had no clue. Hestia, you know how bad frequent apparition is for the fetus. I know, but the only other ways are floo, walking, or driving. Floo is just as bad, walking hurts the feet when pregnant, and driving is unsafe. For merlin's sake, the muggles made that transportation."

"I could fly," Druella insisted.

Hestia continued her speech and then recalled that she could bring a midwife to the manor. She suggested that they could walk to the manor which was a few blocks from them and she could apparate to St. Mungo's. Agreeing to the idea, they followed the plan, and in short time, Hestia brought back Lucy Abbott.

After examining Druella, she told the pair that the results are for some reason not coming out as clear as one would have hoped. She told them she would be back in the next week. Druella did not need a midwife to tell her she was pregnant at the state she was in. The next morning, Druella rushed into the bathroom the second she woke up. Cygnus unaware of his wife's recent incident ran to the bathroom with a look of concern on his face.

"What's wrong? Did the elves not cook the meat from last night all the way?"

After cleaning, herself up, she responded, "No, sweetheart. It is much bigger than that."

Looking at his confused face, she told him to sit on the bed. "I am pregnant," she stated.

She expected her husband to be shocked or even upset or have any emotion, but his face was blank. She repeated it again, but he waved her off.

After a long silence, she asked, "So, what do you think?"

"What are we going to name her?" With that, Druella smiled and laid her head on her husband's shoulder


End file.
